Air supply and exhaust device for air cells

Abstract

There is provided an air supply and exhaust device for air cells which is configured to supply air to a plurality of air cells and exhaust air from the plurality of air cells via a distributor. The distributor includes a housing having a plurality of vent holes and a valve body including an air supply chamber and an exhaust passage. The exhaust passage has a cross-sectional area substantially the same as a cross-sectional area of a vent hole capable of communicating with the exhaust passage, and allows an exhaust receiving port configured to face the vent hole capable of communicating with the exhaust passage and an atmosphere opening port to communicate with each other by being curved around a rotation center of the valve body and extending in a circular arc shape along a rotation track of the valve body at least at the exhaust receiving port.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An air supply and exhaust device for air cells, which is configured to supply air to a plurality of air cells and exhaust air from the plurality of air cells via a distributor, the plurality of air cells being inflatable and deflatable, the air supply and exhaust device comprising:
 the distributor including:
 a housing having a plurality of vent holes that respectively communicate with the air cells; and 
 a valve body configured to be rotatably driven in a state of being arranged to face the vent holes of the housing, configured to supply air from a pump to a vent hole communicating with an air cell to be inflated, and configured to exhaust air from a vent hole communicating with an air cell to be deflated, 
 
 wherein the valve body includes:
 an air supply chamber configured to supply the air from the pump to a vent hole facing the air supply chamber among the plurality of vent holes of the housing; and 
 an exhaust passage through which an air cell communicating with a vent hole facing the exhaust passage among the plurality of vent holes of the housing communicates with an atmosphere opening port, and 
 
 wherein the exhaust passage has a cross-sectional area substantially the same as a cross-sectional area of the vent hole capable of communicating with the exhaust passage, and allows an exhaust receiving port configured to face the vent hole capable of communicating with the exhaust passage and the atmosphere opening port to communicate with each other by being curved around a rotation center of the valve body and extending in a circular arc shape along a rotation track of the valve body at least at the exhaust receiving port. 
 
     
     
       2. The air supply and exhaust device for air cells according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the valve body is rotatable forward and backward, and 
 wherein a pair of exhaust passages is provided in a symmetrical manner on both sides of the air supply chamber in a rotation direction of the valve body. 
 
     
     
       3. The air supply and exhaust device for air cells according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the housing includes, for each air cell, a connection pipe configured to communicate with each air cell via a hose, 
 wherein a vent passage through which the connection pipe and the vent hole communicates has a bent portion, and 
 wherein an outer peripheral side inner wall surface of a bent part of the bent portion is formed as an inclined surface capable of preventing a circuitous flow at the bent portion when the air flows from the connection pipe toward the vent hole through the bent portion. 
 
     
     
       4. The air supply and exhaust device for air cells according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the plurality of vent holes includes an air supply vent hole which is configured to introduce the air from the pump into the air supply chamber of the valve body, and 
 wherein a chamfering amount of an opening end portion of the vent hole facing the exhaust passage is smaller than a chamfering amount of an opening end portion of the air supply vent hole so that the air from the vent hole facing the exhaust passage flows linearly toward the exhaust passage, thereby preventing turbulence due to flow of the air from the vent hole facing the exhaust passage leaking to the side. 
 
     
     
       5. The air supply and exhaust device for air cells according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein a wall surface of the housing, which faces the atmosphere opening port of the exhaust passage and to which the air exhausted from the exhaust passage is blown, is formed as an inclined surface configured to prevent a flow of the blown air from bending and circling along the wall surface.